Mathilde Gros “will be at the rendezvous” of the Paris Olympic Games, assured Tuesday evening the French sprint coach, Grégory Baugé, after the poor performance of the Blues at the World Track Cycling Championships in Glasgow.
Quadruple world champion in speed, Baugé does not want to “worry” about the poor record of French sprinting during these Worlds, but recognizes that it is a “slap” one year from the Games at home.
What is your assessment of these Worlds for the sprint group?
“Obviously we expected better. But I won’t worry. I know where I want to take the athletes. Top-level sport is not 1 1 equals 2. Compared to what we did last year, it was difficult to do the same thing, or even better. The goal is really to succeed in our deadline for the Olympic Games. And believe me there are already a lot of things going through my head. We will do everything to be ready. It’s a slap. But in the life of slaps, it can only do good. It can only do our athletes good if they look at themselves in the mirror. I have confidence in their qualities. But we will have to work.”
How do you explain that Mathilde Gros was eliminated in the quarter-finals despite being the reigning world champion?
“The adversaries will say that she is falling back into her ways, we will let them speak. Mathilde had health problems. But that’s no excuse. If you fly to Glasgow, it’s to fight. She knew how to do it. She also had the choice not to come. If next year we get sick a few days before what are we going to do? Won’t we run? No, it’s a challenge too. She gave her all. It was not easy for her. She will continue. She’s a champion. She will be there.”
Isn’t that alarming before the Olympics?
“I’m not down. The objective remains the same, it is to win the Games. I don’t see it as an alarm. I was the first surprised last year, what she was able to release at the Worlds. The Olympic dream is not just a dream. We can reach it. I trust her. Here it’s still a World Championship and there are World Championships every year. It’s up to us to do everything to be ready on D-Day. We have no right to disappoint our families, all the people who have believed in us from the start and we have no right to disappoint ourselves.
